5 Mistakes Everyone Made Before Makeup School

We’ve all been through regrettable (we like to refer to them as experimental!) phases when it comes to makeup. Whether you struggled with eyeliner, chose the wrong colors for your skin tone, or just wore too much makeup altogether, not to worry. If a career as a makeup artist is your goal, you’ll undoubtedly learn proper techniques in a makeup course and can look back with a grin on your past mistakes.

So what are the most common makeup faux-pas that everyone made before makeup school? Read on for 6 of the most relatable, and cringe-worthy makeup mistakes!

1. Choosing the wrong shade of foundation

For a certified makeup artist, foundation is an extremely basic element of makeup application. Choosing the right shade has become like second nature over time, but it wasn’t always that easy! Although basic, this choice can be very tricky for those who don’t have a background in makeup artistry – no two skin types are the same, and there is no one-size-fits-all foundation that will suit everyone. Even the most skilled and trained makeup artist can recall a time when they were not familiar with their own skin tone or the different foundation finishes available, and ended up with a look they wanted to forget about – fast!

A makeup course will not only teach you the ins and outs of skin imperfections, you’ll also become familiar with how to properly test foundation color. As a rule of thumb, having two different foundations on hand is ideal. One should be slightly lighter than your skin tone while the other should be slightly darker. They can be mixed to suit different skin tones, seasons, or other concerns that you or your client may have. You can’t go wrong with two options instead of one, as you’ll always be able to blend. Which brings us to our next makeup sin…

2. Not blending thoroughly

Although not immediately noticeable to our younger selves, the inability to blend properly was a seriously embarrassing mistake. Think about it – you may have been confident that you understood your skin tone and could choose a foundation quickly, but without proper makeup training, you didn’t really know where to begin. This confidence likely led to the purchase of some products that simply didn’t work with your complexion, leaving you with a neck that didn’t match your face (and perhaps some emotional trauma, as well!).

Makeup training focuses strongly on concealing imperfections, so you’ll not only learn the importance of blending, you’ll also be equipped to hide your clients’ flaws in the most natural way possible.

3. Liner, liner everywhere

If you struggled with eyeliner for years before enrolling in a makeup course, you’re in great company! Applying eyeliner may seem simple in theory, but it takes a great deal of practice and technique to truly enhance a client’s overall look with this kohl tool. Wearing dramatic, smudged eyeliner is such a common mistake that it has almost become a rite of passage for anyone pursuing a career as a makeup artist!

With those dark days behind you, it is vital to understand different eye shapes such as almond, hooded, and deep-set eyes in order to create the most flattering eye makeup applications. Not all eyeliner techniques suit each eye, and it’s important to understand this as a certified makeup artist and keep your repertoire full of different go-to looks. The hands-on assignments in your makeup courses will teach you how to work with different eye shapes and how to expertly apply popular looks, such as the smoky eye. You’ll look back at your days of dramatic liner and laugh!

4. Not changing with the seasons

Just as your closet changes from winter to spring, and summer to fall, so should your makeup routine. You may not think it necessary to use a different moisturizer or lipstick shade during the winter than you do in the summer, but we’ll let you in on a little secret – it is absolutely necessary! Don’t feel bad, though. It’s a common mistake to keep using your heavy setting powder and blush throughout the summer months without switching to cream-based products, or maintaining a berry-hued lip that is much better suited to the fall and winter.

However, throughout your career as a makeup artist, you’ll be providing advice to clients as well as applying looks that suit their complexion, skin tone, and coloring. You’ll need to know when it’s time to switch to a more hydrating moisturizer to prevent dry skin, and when to switch from rich, dark shades to softer, lighter ones. With the proper makeup training, you’ll have an overall understanding of fashion seasons, colors and trends as well as seasonal changes affecting makeup.

5. Ignoring expiration dates

When you were just discovering new makeup trends and products, you couldn’t keep up with your collection! It was so exciting to try new eyeshadows, blushes, and mascaras that you would go back and forth with different products for years.

You may not have learned this fact until years later, but makeup products have expiration dates.

As much as you love that trusty tube of mascara, it really should be discarded after 3-6 months of use. And with good reason – the brush gets pushed back into the tube after touching your eyelashes and collecting various bits of bacteria! And that concealer you swear by? You shouldn’t put it anywhere near your under-eye circles or imperfections beyond 6-12 months – not only are they not as effective anymore, they’re also crawling with bacteria. As part of your makeup courses, you’ll learn sanitary practices that will allow you to provide your makeup clients with the best and safest applications possible.